More clubs pile pressure on officials over Leeds spying

A further 11 Championship clubs have written to the English Football League to voice their concerns after Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa admitted spying on all his side’s opponents this season

Leeds lead the Championship, England football’s second tier.

But their 2-0 win over Derby County last week was overshadowed by Bielsa’s admission he sent a club employee to spy on Derby’s training session a day before the game.

In a statement, Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani apologised for the incident, which is now the subject of investigations by both the Football Association, England’s national governing body, and the Football League, which runs all the three divisions below the elite Premier League.

Derby had already complained to the Football League, who announced on Saturday that 11 more teams had made representations after veteran Argentinian boss Bielsa defended his tactics during a press conference on Wednesday.

“The request attributed to 11 Championship clubs will be considered as part of the current investigation that has commenced,” said a statement from the Football League

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Leeds are currently top of the Championship in Bielsa’s first season at the Yorkshire club and will restore their four-point lead if they win away to Stoke on Saturday.

It is not certain if Bielsa has broken any FA or Football League rules.

But Derby manager Frank Lampard, the former Chelsea and England midfielder, said of Bielsa’s conduct: “At least, on a sportsman’s level, it’s bad in my opinion.”